Michael: Let me ask you this. Tell me the story about Paul Harvey.
Rob: Wow. Can I brag a little bit?
Michael: Yeah.
Rob: I love Paul Harvey.
Michael: Who is he?
Rob: Paul Harvey was America’s newscaster, and he was on at Chicago. Every day from, oh, it used to change. It used to be, at least on east coast time, 11:45 to 12:00. They had a 5-minute broadcast in the morning, and then they would have a 15-minute broadcast at noontime, and then in the evening he would do another 5-minute show called The Rest of the Story, where he would tell you about somebody, but he wouldn’t tell you who the person was until the very end. Do you want to hear one of the Paul Harvey’s The Rest of the Stories?
Michael: Yes.
Rob: When you know who this person is, you just stop me.
Michael: Okay.
Rob: At age 22, he failed in business. At age 23, he ran for political office and lost. At age 24, he started a new business that failed again. At age 25, he ran for legislature and won.
Michael: Abraham Lincoln.
Rob: That’s right. Let me just finish the rest.
Michael: Okay, go ahead.
Rob: At age 26, his sweetheart died. At age 27, he had a nervous breakdown. At age 29, defeated for Speaker. At age 31, defeated for Elector. Age 34, defeated for Congress. Age 37, elected to Congress, 39 - defeated for Congress again, 46 - defeated for Senate, 47 - defeated for the Vice President, 49 - defeated for Senate, 51 - elected President of the United States. And Paul Harvey would say, “And that is the story of President Abraham Lincoln.” Then he’d say, “And now you know the rest of the story.”

Michael: Were all of his The Rest of the Stories, were they similar to that?
Rob: Well, no. The thing that was similar is if it was about Babe Ruth, he wouldn’t say, “Babe.” He’d call him George.
Michael: It was like a quiz.
Rob: Yeah, it was a riddle.
Michael: Yeah, a riddle.
Rob: But you’d hear these stories, and they were all inspiring. I’m looking at three boxes now of cassette tapes. Most days I used to tape record him. Again, Paul Harvey, the thing he was most famous for was what I just did … pause. He was a master of pausing at just the right time, and he had a very, very unique voice. Especially in middle America, he was loved. He was very, very conservative politically, and he was obviously Christian, and he was a real patriot. I just love this guy.
I’m a story addict, and that’s why I still have these tapes here, because I know there are stories I haven’t discovered yet. After he died, in a moment of inspiration, I just wrote a first person about how Paul Harvey affected my life, and the Chicago Tribune, they published it.
Michael: Really?
Rob: Here I am. I’m not even from Chicago. I didn’t even know him.
Michael: How long ago was that?
Rob: He must be gone for about eight years of so.

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